{"id":14257,"date":"2024-09-16T14:11:28","date_gmt":"2024-09-16T14:11:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/product-changes\/"},"modified":"2026-03-20T13:04:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T13:04:13","slug":"product-changes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/product-changes\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Announce Product Changes to Your User Base and Drive SaaS Product Growth"},"content":{"rendered":"

What are product changes?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Product changes are any alterations made to an existing product. These changes are typically effected to enable companies to serve customers better, stay ahead of the competition, or simply change the direction of the product.<\/p>\n

Product changes can take many forms. Common examples include pricing changes<\/a>, new features<\/a>, feature deprecations, admin and back-end updates, and rollbacks.<\/p>\n

Changes can be minor, like fixing bugs, making virus-related updates, or small product improvements.<\/a> They can also be significant, like a whole product redesign<\/a> or drastic changes to company policy and general business direction.<\/p>\n

Why should you announce product changes?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Whether minor or major, product updates mean some aspects of your software will disappear or cease to function as usual. This tends to affect the customer\u2019s feelings; hence it\u2019s always a good idea to let them know rather than wait for them to find out for themselves.<\/p>\n

Other reasons every customer-centric<\/a> company must take product announcements<\/a> seriously:<\/p>\n

Drive new feature discovery and adoption<\/strong><\/h3>\n

You didn\u2019t spend human and material resources on product changes because you were bored; you expect them to move the needle on KPIs, spark growth, and increase usage.<\/p>\n

That won\u2019t happen without announcing changes. Most users already have a fixed routine around your product and won\u2019t notice any new updates due to feature blindness.<\/p>\n

With a proper communication strategy, you can get them excited, expose them to new features and drive better adoption <\/a>and engagement.<\/p>\n

Attract new potential users<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Announcing product changes on social media or any other public channel will drive brand awareness<\/a>, but that\u2019s not the only benefit.<\/p>\n

Your new feature might be what a prospect needs at that point in their life, and you\u2019ll attract them by just announcing what you’ve rolled out.<\/p>\n

In addition, sharing the news of your updates will let existing users know that your product is always growing.<\/p>\n

Close the feedback loop and build trust with customers<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A good way to close the feedback loop<\/a> is to let customers know the updates\/features they requested<\/a> have been added successfully.<\/p>\n

This will get users happy and make them feel valued. You could even win some of them over as loyal and committed users<\/a> in the process.<\/p>\n

Another advantage of closing the feedback loop is the trust you get to build with customers. They will be more confident in providing quality feedback in the future.<\/p>\n

How do you announce a product change?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Now that you\u2019re convinced of the importance of making product change announcements, how do you actually go about it?<\/p>\n

Fortunately, there are many different channels at your disposal. And for optimal results, it\u2019s always best to combine multiple channels at once. Let\u2019s go over them:<\/p>\n

Announce product changes with in-app notifications<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In-app notifications are effective because they\u2019re timely and contextual. Receiving update notifications <\/a>in-app also means users can start experimenting with your changes immediately.<\/p>\n

You can use a range of UI patterns for in-app announcements including modals<\/a>, slideouts, banners<\/a>, and tooltips<\/a>.<\/p>\n

You can also create mobile-optimized announcements<\/a>, extending these powerful communication strategies to your mobile app users.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how a social media software, Postfity announces the new feature with a slideout once the user has logged into the product for the first time after the update.<\/p>\n

\"Postfity-slideout-product-changes\"<\/picture>
An onboarding slideout<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Pair in-app notifications with email marketing<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The fantastic thing about emails is that they pair easily with any other marketing\/comms channel. However, keep in mind that people don\u2019t come to their mailbox looking for the next update from you.<\/p>\n

As a matter of fact, asking them to check your app out is an act of interruption because they opened the email for a different purpose.<\/p>\n

The best way to capture a user\u2019s attention via email is to keep your copy catchy and valuable.<\/p>\n

Emails about product changes <\/a>are best sent to disengaged users<\/a>, churned customers, or people on your mailing list who haven\u2019t started using your tool.<\/p>\n

Good email copy example from Hootsuite:<\/p>\n

\"Hootsuite-email-product-update\"<\/picture><\/figure>\n

Notify your website visitors about product updates<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The average SaaS buyer experiences multiple touchpoints before deciding to buy a product.<\/p>\n

This means prospects may visit your website many times before converting. The last thing you want to do is wait till they subscribe before shocking them with new updates. This is where website notifications come in.<\/p>\n

Two ways to implement it:<\/p>\n